Alexander Zverev confirmed his status as the favorite and won the 2026 US Open by defeating American Ben Shelton 3 sets to 1, with scores of 6/3, 7/6(2), 5/7 and 6/2, on the Arthur Ashe court in New York. The 29-year-old German took 3h33min to secure the title and claimed his second Grand Slam trophy of the season.
World number 1 and top seed of the tournament, Zverev maintained his perfect record against Shelton. Now, he has six wins in six encounters against the American, demonstrating consistent superiority in the head-to-head between the two players.
The German is having a standout season in the ATP's major tournaments. In addition to the Roland Garros title, his first Grand Slam, Zverev was runner-up at Wimbledon and reached the Australian Open semifinals, establishing himself as one of the circuit's biggest favorites.
Zverev started the final by imposing his rhythm and dominated the first set. The German was more consistent in the important points and managed two breaks of Shelton's serve, the last one in the game that ended the first set.
